


Love Thine Enemy

by HighlandRose



Series: Pinterest One-Week Prompts [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Enemies, Gun Violence, Love Triangle, Minor Character Death, Physical Abuse, Self-Defense, Shooting, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27008431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighlandRose/pseuds/HighlandRose
Summary: Week Three of Pinterest Prompts, this one went on for a while because of scheduling conflicts.Pinterest Prompt: Every person on Earth is born with a tattoo on each arm. One matches your soulmate, and one matches your worst enemy. However, most people have no clue which is which. You do, because they are both the same.Challenge: The tattoos aren't always on your arm, and you have to hide at least one of them.
Series: Pinterest One-Week Prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907113





	Love Thine Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> This turned really long, and I fully admit I rushed the ending just to finally end it. That being said, I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Her hands were shaking on her steering wheel so hard that it was difficult to keep her car straight on the road. This was never supposed to happen. They told her the likelihood of this approached one in a billion: Maybe she should go out and buy a lottery ticket.

After twenty-three years of believing what she’d thought to be the truth, her whole world had crumbled in two weeks. The day that changed her life had started off normally, waking up next to her boyfriend, eating breakfast, going to work. Since it was a Friday, they’d decided to brave the crowd at the state fair while it was still in town. Corbin would be getting off a little later than usual, so he’d told her to just take her own car there and they’d meet up once he got off; no big deal. He arrived about an hour after she had, and the night had been full of carnival games, funnel cakes, and wandering around the fair grounds.

Things had taken a horrible turn when they’d gone into the hall of mirrors. Corbin had her go first, and she maneuvered her way through the maze of mirrors, until she caught the sight of a man’s bare arm. On the inside of his forearm, just below his elbow, he had a tattoo. Not just any tattoo, but one that matched hers perfectly. Lillian jerked her arm away from Corbin and raced after the man whose tattoo shouldn’t even exist. Several times she crashed into a mirrored wall as she tried to catch up to him. Her breath was coming out thin and reedy, and the edges of her vision were growing blurry. _Not possible_ , she thought wildly, _this isn’t possible._

Coming out of the mirror maze, she searched desperately for him, and caught a glimpse of his lanky frame walking up the stairs at the end of the hall. Lillian tripped over a bump in the carpet, skinning her knee quite badly, but she couldn’t feel the pain past the panic rushing through her head. She took the stairs two at a time, praying that her fall hadn’t put her too far behind him, and she could have collapsed with relief when she saw his paused in front of one of the trick mirrors. Somehow, she managed to get to him, seizing his arm before he could move away.

Startled hazel eyes whipped around to stare at her. He looked almost sacred, but she was afraid that if she loosened her grip, he might disappear. He shouldn’t exist, it wasn’t possible that he existed, but the feeling of his firm muscles under her hand negated all those thoughts.

“Ashby, what’s going on?” A much younger girl poked out from behind him, but when she saw Lillian, she narrowed her eyes to a deathly glare. “Don’t touch him!” She reached out to shove Lillian away but was distracted by Corbin rushing up to them.

“LiLi, what the hell was that?” Seeing her hand on the man’s arm, Corbin came forward and pulled her away, freezing when his eyes locked onto what had so fascinated her in the first place. “We’re taking this outside.” The four of them radiated confusion, but they all shuffled towards the exit, taking the slide down to the ground level. The bright and flashing lights washed over them, standing at the bottom of the attraction staring at each other with a million questions brewing between.

“Your tattoo…” Lillian spoke first, but she struggled to put words to the turmoil she was in. The man, Ashby, hesitantly held his arm out, and everyone could see the tree wrapped in roses, stabbed by a black sword. Corbin pulled Lillian’s left sleeve up, exposing an identical image across her bicep. To make matters more difficult, Corbin pulled up the leg of his shorts to show yet another identical tattoo just above his knee on his inner thigh.

“She’s my soulmate,” he nearly growled, and Lillian had to step back from him. He’d never acted this way before, and despite the shock of the situation, she couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

“How is this happening?” Ashby’s voice trembled as his gaze flicked back and forth between the three matching tattoos. Every person was born with two tattoos; one matching their soulmate, the other their worst enemy, but there they stood with _three_ matches. An impossibility was unfolding before their very eyes. 

“It’s _not_. Come on Lillian, we’re leaving.” Corbin’s voice was firm, as was his hand on her arm, but she couldn’t leave, not with the questions she had and the way that Ashby’s melancholy eyes begged her not to go.

“Wait.” It was a simple word that meant so many things to her in that moment. _Wait, don’t take me away. Wait, this is all too confusing. Wait, I just need a moment to think._ The grip on her arm grew a fraction firmer, but he stopped pulling. Her darkest secret was rearing its ugly head in a way she’d never even imagined. As gently as she could, she pried Corbin’s fingers off of her arm and cautiously stepped towards the stranger who was now twisted in her cruel fate. Questions clouded Ashby’s face as she drew nearer, but the best way to answer them was to show him. Lillian grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it off, thankful that she’d worn an undershirt. In a motion she’d never done in front of another person aside from her parents and “doctors”, she faced away from him and pulled her dark blonde hair away from her shoulder.

Twin gasps came from Ashby and the girl he was with when they saw on her right shoulder, yet another rose-wrapped tree run through by a sword. Corbin came around, keeping his distance from Ashby, and gawked in disbelief. _Both_ of her tattoos were the same?

“That’s not real.” Corbin’s voice sounded much higher, and much more unnerved than she’d ever heard before. “That can’t be possible.” The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that he was horribly wrong. A scenario like this had only crossed her mind a few times, and only when she was very young; once she was old enough to understand more… mature relationships, she agreed with the “doctors” that whoever her soulmate was would likely just end up breaking her heart. It was a theory that made a lot of sense, but now she was faced with a whole new reality.

“Who are you?” The girl standing behind Ashby demanded. Her green eyes flavored with distrust and what could be construed as accusation. From the way her hand curved protectively over his arm, it was apparent that she cared for him.

“I could ask the same of you.” It was outlandish. Lillian was jealous over someone she technically hadn’t even met yet, but that someone _might_ be… She wouldn’t let her think too much on it just yet, there were still too many things she needed answered.

“This is my sister, Harper. My name is Ashby Crane.” His voice was very soft, and his words were almost lost to the sounds of laughter and screams around them. He held his hand out low and hesitant, looking as if he was afraid she’d slap it away.

“Lillian Seeger.” Odd as it was, Lillian found herself reaching out to take his hand. His hand was warm, if a little damp with nervous sweat. Long fingers curled over hers in a way that said he didn’t want to let her go. A warm and possessive arm came and wrapped around her waist. It startled her to feel Corbin’s chest pressed against her back; it shouldn’t have been since he’d done it a million times, but nothing seemed to feel right anymore. A startling sense of wrongness bubbled heavily in her stomach like a tar pit, threatening to make her sick.

“Come on Lillian, let’s go.” Softer now, Corbin’s voice sounded much more like the voice she’d grown accustomed to over the years, but there was a strain to it now. The arm on her waist wasn’t quite so loving as usual.

“Corbin I-.” Still connected with Ashby by the hand, Lillian held firm against Corbin’s attempts to pull her away. Ashby’s hand held hers as though he depended on it, and she found herself doing the same. How could a complete stranger become one of the two most important people in her life? There were definitely a lot of things that needed to be said between them, but the noise from the people and the rides paired with the bright flashing lights were starting to become disorienting.

“Can we-? I need to-. Could we talk somewhere?” The request seemed reasonable enough, so Lillian nodded, which gained her a squeeze from Corbin.

“You know the diner off the highway? Sullivan’s?” Having lived in this town her whole life, she was very well acquainted with it. At this time of the night with the fair going on, there would be plenty of people around, plus she personally knew the owner. Low risk.

“Yeah, I know it.” They shared a nod, before heading in opposite directions to their cars. Lillian could notice precious little save the pounding of her head and the roaring of her heart in her ears. _It wasn’t supposed to be like this_. Hell, the more she thought about it, the more it made her sick. Seven years. Corbin had been in her life for seven years, and now she was questioning everything.

“Lillian, you can’t be serious.” Hot in her heels, she could almost feel Corbin breathing down her neck. “Are you _actually_ going to meet him?” Disgust rippled through his tight voice, sending a chill down her spine.

“Of course I’m going to meet him. I need to know who he is.” Needed to know who he was to _her_.

“He’s _not_ your soulmate Lillian, _I_ am. How could you hide this from me?” The pain in his voice had her stopping to look at him. This was the face she’d been looking at for all these years, but it felt like the first time she was really seeing him. How was she supposed to make heads or tails of this situation if she couldn’t find out more about Ashby?

“I’m… I’m really confused. I just need to talk to him.” Corbin’s eyes narrowed, his pain quickly dissolving into an anger she’d never seen in him before. While this situation was completely unprecedented and shocking to say the very least, but Corbin’s reaction was so out of character it was almost frightening. In the depths of his dark brown eyes, she could see a deep seated fear that she felt in her gut was not proportional to their currant problem.

“He’s your enemy, what more do you need to know?” _Enemy_. His conviction was absolute, and that didn’t sit quite well with her. For never having heard of this situation before, he seemed so damn certain of Ashby’s position in her life.

“I just met him, Corbin. How can I hate a man I just met?” It made no sense for a man she just met to be her worst enemy. Talking to him could possibly give her some inkling as to the kind of person he was, but Lillian couldn’t imagine hating someone with such soft hazel eyes. Looks could definitely be deceiving, but something inside told her she wasn’t wrong about him, so without hesitation, she slid into her car. When she tried to shut her door, and hand shot out, keeping it open. 

“Don’t do this Lillian.” On the door, his fingers were clenched so firmly that they went white. No matter how much she tugged on the door, the iron muscles of his arm kept it from moving. He was looking down at her with burning heat smoldering in his eyes.

“I have to.” No other words could be used to explain it. She _had_ to go meet this guy. “Just let me go.” No matter how upset he got, this was something she needed to do for herself; to maybe get some answers for the questions she’d been living with for her whole life. Corbin’s displeasure was clear, but after a few moments, he dropped his hand from the door and stepped back. Seizing the opportunity, Lillian quickly shut the door and drove off before he could try to stop her again.

It was a quick drive to Sullivan’s, but she kept checking her rear view mirror. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for in her paranoia, maybe Corbin, maybe Ashby. Her heart was thudding, almost painfully hard as she walked into the cozy little diner. Sue, her regular waitress, started walking towards her to lead her to a table but Lillian waved her off and walked straight to the table where Ashby sat with Harper. He gave her a nervous half smile and Harper glowered at her as though she were some horrible villain as she took her seat across from Ashby, careful not to graze his legs with hers.

“Are you hungry? We waited to order until you got here.” Reaching past Harper, he grabbed a menu and gently handed it to Lillian. In the new lighting, she could now see faded scars on his face and his arms. For all outward appearances, he didn’t look to be a fighter, but it was obvious that he’d been in some scuffs. It didn’t feel like she could swallow one bite, but she studied the menu nonetheless to give herself a little more time before she had to deal with him.

“Are you all ready to order?” Sue asked in her usual sweet manor yet Lillian could hear the worry in her voice. Usually when Lillian came in, she was by herself, and in the rare occasion she wasn’t, she had Corbin with her.

“I think we are. Lillian?” Ashby nodded her way, waiting for her to go first.

“Just an order of curly fries please, Sue. And a sweet tea.” If she couldn’t manage to finish the fries, it wouldn’t be a total loss, and maybe having a little bit of sugar in her system would help clear the fog that was settling in. Ashby ordered a grilled chicken salad with a sweet tea, Harper begrudgingly ordered a veggie burger with a water, and then they were left in peace while Sue put the order in. The tension between them was so thick they could almost swim in it.

“So Harper, are you a vegetarian?” Lillian had meant to just break the ice, but from the glare she received from the younger girl it was obvious that her effort wasn’t appreciated. Harper pulled out a set of ear buds and shoved them into her ears before leaning back in her chair and looking out the window. At a complete loss for words, Lillian wilted in her chair a bit.

“I’m sorry, she’s… it’s nothing personal, I promise.” His voice was softer than she’d thought at the carnival, sounding smooth, if a little trepidatious. He paused for a second before clearing his throat. “So, Lillian? That a very pretty name.” The barest hint of a blush colored his cheeks, and she could see how hard he was trying to make friendly conversation.

“Thank you. I’ve never heard the name Ashby before.” It was certainly unique, much like the man who bore it. Being this close under fluorescent lights, Lillian started to examine the scars that marred his otherwise flawless skin. Most were so old and small that they were hardly more that shadows, but some must have been from more serious injuries and were fairly visible. The ones that stood out the most were the split in the middle of his left brow, an abstract star-shaped one at the top of his left cheek bone, and the pinkish one where his lower lip had obviously been split open; what had he been through in his life?

“My mom’s dad was named Ashby. She thought it was nice to honor him that way.” A gentle smile crossed his face, like he was recalling a sweet memory. Perhaps he was close with his family; she was, but she knew many who weren’t.

“How old are you?” Looks could definitely be deceiving, but he only appeared to be a couple years older than she herself.

“I’m twenty-six. My birthday was back in March.” Honesty was something Lillian hadn’t expected so readily, but it made relaxing around him all the easier. Ever so slowly, she could feel the tension melting from her taut frame.

“Twenty-two, but my birthday is coming up next month.” A little over three years between them, which wasn’t too bad, Corbin was six, almost seven years older than her. It should have appalled her that she was comparing Ashby and Corbin, but it could only help her to keep an open mind when so much was in question. “What sort of work do you do?”

“I work as a vet assistant at Mercy off main.” Admirable. Thinking of him surrounded by dogs and cats, offering them comfort, brought a smile to her lips. She loved animals, but Corbin hated the hair and the messes they made, so she hadn’t had a pet since they’d moved in together; she compensated for that with her choice of job.

“I work at Tails and Scales down town.” The little mom and pop pet store was a local gem that she’d dreamed of working at since she was a child. Ashby leaned toward her a little, appearing to be quite interested in what she was saying. It was really nice to have him listening so intently to everything she said.

“I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t gotten the chance to go yet.” That made her pause for a half-second. The town wasn’t that big, and pretty much everyone who lived there had been to the pet store.

“You aren’t from here are you?”

“No,” he said as though he were making some kind of confession, “my family and I moved here about three years ago.” That explained the slightest hint of an accent she heard like an undercurrent in his voice, and the fact that she’s never bumped into him.

“I was born and raised here.” Lillian chuckled humorlessly. “That’s pretty lame right? I don’t think I’ve ever been further than one hundred miles outside city limits.” Not once in her childhood had it ever bothered her; she loved her hometown that was so familiar to her. Only once she’d gotten older had she felt the urge to leave. Not really even leaving for the sake of it, but to have a taste of freedom.

“I think it’s great here. I’m from a big city, so in comparison it’s…peaceful.” There was no laughter or trace of sarcasm reflected in the hazel eyes that watched her with curiosity. Just as she was about to say something, Sue came back with her drink and their food. Lillian noticed how tense Sue’s body was, and how warily she regarded Ashby. To ease her, Lillian made sure to smile wide when she thanked Sue, and to make direct eye contact. Despite her own preconceived notions about this meeting, she was actually having a decent time and she wanted Sue to know.

“Where did you live before you moved here?” A small bit of tension creeped up into his shoulders, like the thought of his old home disturbed him. He breathed deeply and took a drink of his tea.

“I was born in St. Louis, but my mom moved to Denver when I was about two.” The tone of his voice was gentle with a swirl of sadness to it that matched the shadows in his eyes.

“So Harper was born in Denver?”

“Yeah, she was. I was nine when she was born.” That put her at seventeen or eighteen which was actually older than Lillian would have guessed. Like Ashby, Harper had dark, almost black hair, but other than that, the similarities ended; there was very little family resemblance between the two. “I can see what you’re thinking. She’s my half-sister.” He smiled over to his sister and patted her arm reassuringly. Harper looked up from her burger for a moment to check on him, only to go to back to ignoring them when she saw his expression.

“I don’t think she likes me very much.” Not like she expected to be best buds with her, but the looks and cold shoulder she was getting felt pretty hostile when Lillian hadn’t done anything wrong.

“She’s extremely protective of me. Has been since she was knee high on a grasshopper.” Being an only child, Lillian couldn’t really say she understood the feeling, but that eased her mind; the situation was so new to all of them, and it was sort of sweet that Harper was worried for her brother.

“Have you met, uh, your other… person?” There was no easy way to say it, and she wanted to avoid using “soulmate” and “enemy” to describe either of their relationships.

“Yes.” Ashby’s voice was thin and cutting on that one word. His feelings for whoever shared his other tattoo were made very clear. A shiver ran down her spine with the implication backing those words: He hated the other person, and Lillian was the only other person linked to him.

He ate in silence for several minutes, chewing every bite carefully and taking his time to think about what he was going to say. When he finally set his fork down again, he looked like he was in pain.

“It’s not something I can talk about without reliving some traumatic things, but yes, I met her.” Even thinking of his past made him sound year, maybe decades older than he was. She could see it in his eyes that he was haunted by his memories.

“I’m sorry. For whatever it is you went through.” And she meant it, from the very bottom of her heart. She’d never been able to handle it when people around her were hurting, but it tore at her heart to see Ashby in pain when she now knew he was tangled in her fate.

“When-. When I saw your tattoo, I…I felt hope.” His expression went through so many emotions, a blush shadowing them all. It was killing him to say this, but who knew if he’d ever get the chance again. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I found you, but this _situation_ never exactly occurred to me.” That was the understatement of the millennium. Lillian nearly choked on her bite of French fry when she snorted out of reflex.

“I could say the same,” she said when she managed to catch her breath. “Although, all the doctors swore this wasn’t even a possibility, so I never really even though that they might exist.” Corbin had always been both for her, since she knew no better. She’d loved him as best she could, but always held a part of herself back. The way she’d figured, if she didn’t give all of herself over to their relationship, maybe it would hurt less when he broke her heart like she thought he was destined to do. Now though… Had she made the wrong choice by not keeping an open mind?

“That’s understandable I guess. I’ve never heard of something like this happening.” Of course he hadn’t. Things like this just _didn’t_ happen, but here they were. Absentmindedly, Ashby ran his fingers over the twin of her tattoo, bringing her attention to the deep scar that slashed through it. Like the ones on his face, it was faded with age, but this one looked almost jagged in a way. She was burning to ask about it, but that slid a bit too far into personal territory for a first conversation.

“From what I’ve been told, no one has heard of this happening. They thought it just meant that whoever my soulmate was would break my heart; that I’d be alone.” It’s what she’d been preparing for her whole life, to one day have everything she loved ripped away from her; she’d lived a shell of a life because of it.

“That sounds like an awful prospect.” He didn’t know the half of it, but if he was here now, that meant she would have a chance to _really_ live. There was only one problem.

“It was, but honestly I’m feeling more conflicted now about my future now than I was an hour ago.” His sudden arrival in her life had turned things upside down irrevocably. Why did fate demand that she hate one of them? Everyone she knew who tried to fight their destiny had failed and failed miserably, and she could guess that her attempts wouldn’t fare any better.

“That’s my fault.” He wasn’t faking his remorse over that fact; he honestly believed that her discomfort was honestly his fault.

“No,” Lillian almost whispered, ever so gently reaching out to touch his hand. When she made contact, Ashby flinched back a little but ultimately allowed her touch. “There’s no one to blame here; none of us even knew this was possible.” In a way, Lillian couldn’t help to be drawn in by his shyness and the aura of gentleness about him. What sort of secrets did he hold behind his hazel eyes?

For the rest of their meal, they made friendly conversation, talking about where they went to school, what they liked. They both liked the same type of music, had similar tastes in food, and had similar temperaments. The longer they talked, the more familiar he felt to her, like she were reconnecting with a long-lost friend rather than getting to know a complete stranger.

Time passed by so quickly as they talked that before they realized it, Sue was coming up to tell them they were closing.

“It’s already eleven?” Ashby finally checked his watch, and was completely surprised to find it really was that late. Despite the shock, neither could really regret it. “Time flies by when you’re having a good time I guess.” For once, it was true for the both of them.

They all got up and when they went to pay, Ashby insisted on paying. Lillian wanted to protest, but he just chuckled and offered to take her number as repayment, which she gave him without hesitation.

“So I guess I’ll talk to you later?” While she was saying goodbye now, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time. The smile she received made her heart skip half a beat.

“Anytime. I can’t answer at work unless I’m on a break, but I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” He held his hand out for one last handshake, much more sure than the first time he’d done it, taking Lillian by surprise. In the short hours they’d spent together, a camaraderie had grown between them. She took his hand again, really taking time to analyze every aspect of his touch; he squeezed faintly, not too firmly, but enough to keep her right where she was. His hand was warm and thankfully not nervously sweating like he was before.

They separated after a couple seconds and she left them to walk around the corner to her car. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t even see the figure leaning against her car until she was a scant foot away from the door. It caught her completely off guard making her scream in surprise. Her first instinct was to run, but an iron grip caught her arm as she turned, wrenching her arm as she tried to escape.

“Lillian!” Ashby called out her name when he came barreling around the corner. A sick dread filled her until she turned to see her would be captor.

“Corbin? What the hell?” The deadpan expression on his face only fueled her dread along with his unyielding grasp on her arm. How long had he been out here waiting for her?

“Have a nice time?” The venom in his voice burned with every word. Lillian tried to pull away from him, but his hand tightened to bruising firmness. A faint whimper of distress dragged out of her lungs against her will, bringing Ashby closer. From the corner of her eye, Lillian could see Harper watching the scene from safely behind the corner of the building.

“Let go of her,” Ashby demanded softly, keeping his eyes on her face so he could read her stressed expression.

“You sure looked cozy in there. Did he tell you all about Denver?” The pieces slowly lined up, and her body threatened to go completely limp.

“How did you know he lived in Denver?”

“You mean he didn’t tell you? He was pretty notable there what is it now, eight years ago?” Lillian looked over to Ashby, only to see his face had turned into a mask of utter horror.

“Ashby, what is he talking about?” Did this have something to do with his painful memories? His eyes narrowed on Corbin, yet he still managed to look like the less intimidating of the two.

“He’s talking about something he knows _nothing_ of.” Even as she saw him shaking, he looked her right in the eye, keeping her as his entire focus.

“Oh, I know all about your case. Some of the news articles were quite descriptive about the scene of the crime.” _Crime_? Ashby’s eyes begged for her not to listen, for her to trust him, but her turmoil was crashing down on her like unforgiving waves.

“It’s not what it sounds like Lillian.” In the depths of his hazel eyes, she saw his fear, his complete and total fear shining like a beacon.

“Not what it sounds like? You mean you didn’t shoot your step-sister six times in the chest at point blank range?” A sick, self-satisfied smile crept across his face and it made her want to throw up. “What was her name? Ann? Amy? Oh, yeah, Anita.” _It’s not something I can talk about without reliving some traumatic things_. That’s what he’d told her. Now all she could see was a young Ashby with a gun, standing over a woman’s body. How could he do something like that?

“Is he telling the truth, Ashby?” Tears that had pooled in the corners of his eyes spilled down over his ashen cheeks. His mouth opened to say something, but no words escaped his trembling lips. Corbin finally released her; now she wasn’t running. The world seemed to spin around and around, so she stayed put.

“You don’t know anything!” Harper emerged from her cover and ran to her brother, looking to all the world like an avenging angel come to save the day. “You weren’t there! You don’t understand!” She angled herself between Lillian and Ashby, daring anyone to come closer.

“Ashby, did you kill your step-sister?” She had to know. Was he really a murderer like Corbin claimed? Harper was begging him to leave, but he held his ground. With his piercing gaze locked on hers, he let out the one word she was praying she didn’t hear.

“Yes.” Like usual, his voice was soft but it was overwhelmingly sad now. Lillian barely made it ten seconds after that before she ran in front of her car and puked her guts up into the bushes. She heaved until there was nothing left in her and then without another word got into her car and sped away. In her rear view mirror she saw the three of them still as statues in the red haze of her taillights.

The whole way home she sobbed hysterically. Her whole world was crumbling down and there was nothing she could do about it. The fates had tied her to one man she thought she knew well, only to see she was horribly wrong, and one who was an admitted murderer.

That night, and every night for the next two weeks, she slept on the couch. Corbin often tried to speak to her, to cajole her into returning back to their normal life, but she closed herself off, still sorting through her feelings about his aggressive behavior and the knowledge he so gleefully threw in her face. He’d never tried to apologize or explain himself, and as long as his fingerprints were embedded into her arm and his words burned into her brain, she did not want to be close to him. Most nights while he slept like a rock in their bed, she was spending her sleepless hours reading article after article about Ashby’s case.

His victim’s name was in fact Anita, Anita Wiltshire, and she had been his step-sister. His plea was not guilty, and he was claiming self-defense. With the victim’s perfect record, the jury seemed sure of his guilt until he took the stand. Ashby testified to the abuse he’d been subjected to at her hands for many years. Once she’d seen his tattoo, she had started doing unspeakable things to him, and it made Lillian’s stomach churn just reading about it.

The most horrible part of the whole trial was when nine year old Harper took the stand and testified on her brother’s behalf. Pictures from the court showed a mini version of the girl she’d met, with hollow eyes that looked like they had seen too much in their short years. According to her testimony, Anita had been abusing him for years whenever the parents had gone to sleep, and on the night of the shooting, their parents had been out at dinner. Harper came home from the neighbor’s house around seven and heard screaming. Running to the living room, Harper saw Anita coming at Ashby with a knife only moments before Ashby unloaded her father’s revolver into Anita’s chest.

Lillian had read and reread the articles and documents probably two dozen times. She agonized over every word. Shock had made her too quick to judge Ashby, and Harper’s words came back to haunt her; _You weren’t there! You don’t understand_. And in truth, she didn’t know, she hadn’t stayed around long enough to hear his side of the story. He’d admitted to the killing, but she didn’t know the details of the incident.

No matter how many days passed, her guilt would not subside until finally it came to Friday. A whole two weeks had passed since the incident, and she had done enough over-thinking for a lifetime. After she got off work, she climbed in her car and made the call.

“H-hello?” Ashby’s startled voice answered her after the first ring. She had to fight the urge to hang up and ignore her situation, but she took a steadying breath before answering.

“Hello, Ashby.” There was always a possibility that he didn’t want to speak with her again, but she’d come this far.

“Lillian.” His caution couldn’t fully over-shadow his relief as he nearly whispered her name. “Are you okay?” A pinprick of guilt lanced her heart once more; after all he’d been through, he was still asking if she was okay.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.” Ever since that night, nothing had felt right. “I know I have no right, but could I ask you to do something?” There were questions lingering between them that needed answered.

“Uhm, sure. Whatever you need.”

“Can you meet me at Sullivan’s again? Tonight?” Would he risk her reaction if it meant he got to see her again?

“When?” Ashby didn’t even hesitate. Lillian has expected him to be weary of seeing her again after what happened last time, but he surprised her once again.

“Well I’m off work now-.”

“I can be there in fifteen minutes.” Maybe this was going to go more smoothly than she thought.

“I’ll head there now. See you soon.” To save them both from an awkward hang up, she ended the call first. Seventeen minutes later they were seated across from each other at the same table as the last time. Ashby was wearing dark blue scrubs, and she was still wearing her uniform shirt.

He’d had a difficult time meeting her eyes, but after they ordered some drinks, he finally looked directly at her.

“Did you-? How much do you know? I don’t think we’d be sitting here unless you did some research.” Lillian could see his pride, battered and broken, but they needed absolute truth between them.

“I know everything that was made public. I think I must have read through twenty pages of Google results.” Most of the search results were just rehashes of the same central story, but she’d read them all the same.

“I swear I was going to tell you. I’m sorry for not doing it from the start, but it’s not something I wanted to bring up within a few hours of meeting.” From the way his voice wavered, she could tell he didn’t want to talk about it now, but he would try for her.

“If something like that had happened to me, I wouldn’t want to either. I didn’t know Corbin would come here like that.” At the mention of Corbin’s name, they both tensed up, but Ashby showed no anger.

“He was trying to protect you.”

“I know, but I’m a big girl; I can handle myself.” His scarred brow raised just a hair, but he held his tongue. “You need to know, I’ve been with him for five years, and I’ve known him for seven.” Long enough to believe she knew him.

“Lillian, you don’t owe me any explanations.” He wasn’t just being kind. Ashby honestly thought that, but she needed _him_ to know about her life.

“I was sixteen when I met him. Several of my friends and I went down to the lake for the weekend and I bumped into him. With his shorts I could see his tattoo, and that was that.” She’d thought it was the beginning of the end; the start of the inevitable count down to the point when he’d break her heart. “He was visiting his cousin, but after we met, he moved here a year later.” Though she’d been seventeen at the time, he said he wanted to be close to her, seemingly content to just hang out with her. He’d always been patient and gentle with her in those early days, always looking after her needs until she grew to depend on him.

These last two weeks had shown her how he’d manipulated her, how he’d taken advantage of her youthful naïveté. She’d never seen his behaviors for what they were because she’d thought she loved him, or at least mostly loved him.

“My mom met the person she thought was her soulmate when she was fifteen. She ran away with him, only to have him leave her when she turned up pregnant a couple of years later.” It was obvious in his voice that he carried a lot pain over the past, but he soldiered on. “She kept me and moved back to her parent’s house, but they never let her forget what she’d done, so when I was seven she moved to Denver with her older sister. That’s where she met her true soulmate, my step-father Julian.” His voice dipped lower and Lillian could tell what was coming.

“Ashby, if it makes you uncomfortable-.” She didn’t have time to finish before he pressed his fingers over her mouth.

“I need to say this, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Anita was twelve when we met, and she hated my mother and me, or at least she did until she saw my tattoo when I was changing out of my muddy clothes by the front door.” Gently, he pulled the v of his scrub shirt to reveal black crossed swords over his left pectoral. “After that, that’s when she started… grooming me.” He almost looked green as he spoke, and she didn’t feel too great herself. Over the next hour, he painstakingly retold the story of his years of torture. The first time she’d assaulted him, he was only twelve, and after that Anita had grown so possessive over him that she broke his phone many times, beaten him when he’d even spoken to other girls, and she’d been the one who had cut him across his tattoo because she’d seen his running his fingers over it.

“What happened that night?” What was the final shove that pushed him off the edge? Tears pooled in his eyes like an over-full dam threatening to erupt, and her heart went out to him. Lillian couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and taking his hand between hers, squeezing gently like she could impart some strength through her touch. Ashby held on to her like she was a lifeline keeping him from drowning. 

“I tried,” his voice quavered, “to leave. I never told the parents what she was doing to me because I didn’t want to hurt their relationship. My mom deserved happiness after what she’d been through. The only way I could get away was by applying to colleges that were far away.” Lillian could almost see a younger Ashby pouring over college applications, desperately trying to work his way to freedom. “Anita stayed at the local community college. That’s how she was able to stay home and keep tabs on me, but I told my mom I wanted to have the ‘college experience’.” There was no way to know if he’d been able to go to college without him telling her, but she sincerely hoped there would be some sort of happiness in his life.

“Did you get in?” She wanted him to have a bit of hope.

“Yeah, I did. I actually got into several big schools. My mom made a huge deal over it, and my step-dad was really proud, but when Anita heard the news, I thought she would snap in front of everyone, but she waited until we were alone. In all the years of her abusing me, I had never seen her so angry. She accused me of trying to leave her, and I was pushed so far that I admitted it was true. It was Anita who went and grabbed her dad’s gun; I thought for sure that I’d die right then and there. Part of me wanted to let her do it, but I couldn’t leave Harper and my mom like that. Anita would probably tell them that _I_ had attacked her, and I didn’t want to be remembered like that, so when she came back in the room, I fought her.” The unfocused look in his eyes grew more and more intense until he wasn’t looking at her anymore, but looking through her, lost in the memories of the past.

“And that’s when Harper had come in?” Flashing back to those pictures in her mind, she grieved for young Harper.

“Yes. She’s witnessed a lot of the abuse over the years; her room was next to Anita’s and Harper was always a light sleeper, so she woke up and followed Anita to my room. I’ve been trying to make it up to her for years: I stole her childhood by swearing her to secrecy.” That explained why Harper was so protective over him, and why she was so weary of Lillian. The tears he’d been fighting had actually begun to spill over, running unchecked down his flushed cheeks. Anita had ruined both Ashby and Harper, but he took the responsibility for it.

“No, Ashby, you didn’t ruin anything for her. Anita is the only one to blame here.” They both squeezed each other’s hands for comfort.

“She _saw_ me kill her sister, Lillian. She was barely nine years old, and she watched me gun down her big sister.” Haunted was the best way she could describe the way he sounded; haunted and broken over this.

“If she held it against you, she wouldn’t be trying to protect you to this day.” With a gentle touch, she brushed his hair back from his forehead, bring her palm to rest softly against his cheek. “Harper loves you. It wasn’t _you_ who took anything from her, and she knows it.”

“Seeing her on the stand nearly killed me; hearing her talk about the things she’d seen… I’ll never forgive myself for not shielding her from that.” He sounded so final, but Lillian prayed that someday he’d find a way to see that he wasn’t responsible for Anita’s actions.

Silence followed, both unable to find the right words to say in the situation they’d found themselves in. Hearing everything from him was enough for Lillian to draw up new conclusions. Ashby wasn’t a cold-blooded killer, but a victim of abuse and circumstance. She couldn’t blame him for what he’d done out of desperation, and she felt so heartsick for his suffering.

He paid again, even though they left their drinks untouched, and he walked her back to her car, all without another word. Instead of climbing in, Lillian leaned against the driver side door, holding his hands still in hers. Her deep blue eyes held his with their gaze, soft and steady and full of understanding.

“You believe me, don’t you?” A sweet smile crossed her lips at the sound of the hope in his voice. Lillian hesitantly stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his thin middle in a hug of reassurance. Through her gentle embrace, she assured him that she _did_ believe him; that she trusted him. She held onto him for several long moments, savoring the way he held her back softly. Such a gentle man.

They parted reluctantly, Ashby saying he needed to get back to Harper, and Lillian unfortunately needing to get home before Corbin grew too suspicious. It didn’t set well with him that she was growing so skittish of her boyfriend.

“Are you sure you’re safe to go home?” Concern melted through his voice and soaked into her. Corbin seemed to be more and more agitated with her the longer she stayed away from him. Two weeks ago she would have sworn he would never lay a hand on her, but she had been wrong. There was absolutely no way of knowing what he was capable of now, but she wasn’t quite ready to throw away seven years to embrace the uncertain.

“I should be okay.” She couldn’t offer anything better than that. Yes, she _should_ be safe with the man who had claimed to love her for all these years, but she couldn’t guarantee it. Ashby’s brows knit together, but chose not to question her.

“If you need anything, anything at all, please call me.” They parted ways when she promised to call him if she needed him, and he waited to leave until she was safely on her way.

This drive home was much less stressful than the last time, but strangely even more thought provoking. She didn’t want to label either of them without giving both of them a fair shot, but how was she supposed to do that without being a total bitch? Was it even possible to spend time with them without appearing to be stringing them along? So many memories she’d shared with Corbin, but there was no knowing for sure if he was really who she was meant to be with. And Ashby… the longer she was around him, the more as ease she felt.

Ashby had such a mild manner that it was impossible not to like him. He hadn’t intimidated her from the moment they met, and now that they’d talked through his past, she was hard pressed to find a reason not to get to know him more.

All these thoughts swirled through her head the whole way home, keeping her so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice Corbin sitting on her makeshift bed until he spoke.

“Where were you?” His voice was low and charged with sparks of anger when he questioned her. Lillian gasped and jumped, completely startled from her thoughts. He was little more than a dark silhouette until she turned on the lights. Corbin’s eyes looked off somehow, a foreign emotion simmering behind them that she’d never seen before.

“I was at Sullivan’s.” Even with the way he’d been acting, she wasn’t going to lie; she had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.

“You were with _him_ , weren’t you?” The venom in his tone stung, but also made her body grow cold. How he said it almost wasn’t a question. But how…?

“Yes,” she admitted in a hushed voice. “I wanted to ask him about what happened in Denver.” Corbin got off the couch and faced her, narrowing his eyes at her explanation.

“He murdered his step-sister. What more did you need to know?” Surprise made her blink several times, maybe hoping that when she opened them _her_ Corbin would be standing in front of her, not this enraged stranger.

“That’s not how it happened.” Sparks of anger began to burn low in her belly with his attack on Ashby. “You knew about his case enough to use it against him. You had to have read that it was self-defense.” All she got was a scoff before Corbin started to laugh at her.

“Come on, you can’t be stupid enough to believe that.” He’d started to walk closer to her, each step filling her with more and more dread.

“I guess I am.” After taking the time to talk to him, yes, she completely believed in his innocence, and if Corbin chose not to believe it that was his choice.

“I guess you are too, or you wouldn’t be getting so cozy with him.” Pulling out his phone, he almost shoved it in her face. On his screen, blurred with proximity was a picture of her and Ashby hugging outside the restaurant. _What?_

“How did you get that?” How in the absolute hell did he get a picture like that? Had he followed her again? Seeing the picture on his phone made her sick to her stomach. Out. She needed to get out of there.

Lillian tried to open the door, but Corbin was faster and slammed his hand against it, holding it closed and pinning her against it.

“Can’t deny the evidence can you? That’s why you haven’t slept in bed with me since that night, isn’t it? You want him.” The jealousy in his eyes burned hot like an out of control forest fire, bringing with it just a hint of hysteria.

“It’s not like that.” But that was a damn hard thing to say when all she wanted in that moment was Ashby. He wouldn’t be yelling at her if he were here, he would be comforting her, probably even hugging her again. Here alone with Corbin when he was in this state made her pulse sluggish with fear.

“We haven’t had sex since he came into the picture. If you really don’t want him, then kiss me.” Shivers rocked through her at the thought of kissing him. Even just the thought of holding still while she allowed him to kiss her had her panicking.

“I don’t want to kiss you, Corbin.” At this point she didn’t even want to be in the same state as him. Apparently that wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear because the very next second he launched at her, forcing his lips on hers. The force with which he attacked her made her head crack painfully against the door, but her scream of pain was lost with his lips against hers.

When she tried pulling away, Corbin gripped the sides of her face with bruising strength to keep her still. Trapped between him and the door, Lillian struggled desperately to escape, but he was so strong. At some point, Corbin had managed to work her jaw open enough to plunge his tongue into her mouth, and she took that opportunity to bite him, hoping that it would be enough to give her a chance to escape.

He howled in pain, drawing away from her, but she couldn’t move fast enough to avoid his right fist plowing into her cheek so hard that she felt like blacking out. Pain exploded behind her eyes with a blinding light, only matched by the excruciating sensation of her head cracking against the floor as she fell. Corbin took every advantage of her dazed state to climb on top of her, straddling her hips. His hands working in the button of her pants roused her enough to kick her brain into survival mode and she hit him with everything she had in her. She got a few good hits before he grabbed her hands, pinning them above her head with one hand while he ripped open her uniform with the other.

Her energy was ebbing fast, but the thought of what he might do to her if she gave up kept her fighting, digging deep down into every dark space within for more energy to fight him. When he brought his head down to her breasts, Lillian wildly searched for any type of weapon she could seize, but without her hands she was useless. Kicking her legs out, her right one collided with the shelf they had by the front door, and she felt hope.

When they’d gotten the shelf, it wasn’t balanced properly, so the only thing keeping to from tipping was a small shim made from a folded paper. She looked over Corbin’s head, trying to see where the best spot to hit it was, and prayed. Her heel struck the bottom of the middle shelf and she followed through with the kick until her leg extended as far as it could. The shelf made a loud bang against the wall then slowly began to tip forward. Corbin raised his head as she covered hers with her arm, just in time for the shelf to collapse on him.

The weight of the shelf plus Corbin was almost suffocating, but Corbin was no longer moving. She slowly uncovered her face to see her porcelain flower vase in pieces around Corbin’s limp head. If she weren’t so desperate to be out of that situation, she would have laughed at the irony since he had been the one to give her that vase. As it was, Lillian fought to until she was out from under the wreckage and just ran out of the house, leaving the door open and everything. Once she was driving away, the violent waves of emotions cane crashing down on her. After the first sob, she couldn’t stop until she was almost screaming. With her eyes so tear-filled, she was having a hard time seeing the road, and she knew she’d need to stop driving, but where could she go?

Her phone had somehow managed to stay in her pocket through the whole ordeal, and she dialed the only person she could trust.

“Lillian? What’s wrong?” Like the first time that day, Ashby answered at the first ring. The sound of his soft voice left her sobbing in relief. “Oh, God, Lillian what happened?” He asked in pure panic, but she couldn’t articulate what had happened. Past her gut-wrenching sobs, she could only utter one thing.

“Need…you.” And in her mind she’d never needed anything more. Through a more or less one-sided conversation, he found out that she was driving, so he walked her through the directions to his house, using his voice to keep her grounded until she made it safely to him. As soon as she parked in front of his house, he was out the door, racing to get to her. They met in the middle of his yard, and she collapsed in his arms, hiding her battered face against his neck. His strength surprised her as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her in, but it was hard to focus on anything beyond her distress.

The rest of the night passed by like an out of body experience for her. She could see Ashby gently setting her on the couch, and Harper’s horrified reaction when she saw the state of Lillian’s clothes. Ashby slowly worked the bare bones of what happened out of her, and convinced her to go to the police and press charges. Too dazed to fight, she agreed, but after all the questioning and the collection of evidence she almost regretted it.

She finally came back to reality after she’s showered and Harper was applying first aid as efficiently as a young medic, like she’d done this before. As gentle as she was being, Lillian still flinched hard when Harper grazed the back of her head.

“Try sleeping on your stomach tonight; it will hurt your head less.” She applied a thin layer of antibiotic gel and wished Lillian a good night. Ashby walked her to his small but tidy room, offering her his bed for the night.

“Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the couch.” He’d have to wake her throughout the night due to her possible concussion, but she would at least be comfortable while she got some sleep. He pulled back the covers for her, letting her crawl in at her own pace before tucking her in. She felt so utterly battered and exhausted that she had a feeling she would fall asleep instantly. Unfortunately for her, the moment she relaxed in the bed and closed her eyes. She was thrown back into that horrifying moment, watching Corbin’s eyes turn enraged, knowing the any moment he’d be on top of her again, making her struggle for freedom.

Lillian’s eyes flew open in horror, her breathing fast becoming hyperventilation, bringing Ashby to her side in an instant.

“Ashby-.” She couldn’t even speak any more past the knot in her throat. If anything else came her way, she wasn’t sure she could survive it. There was no mistaking the overwhelming sympathy in Ashby’s eyes; he’d been through hell and back, and he knew what she was going through.

“He can’t hurt you here. I promise, you’re safe.” He held out his hand to her, offering comfort, but she needed more than that, so she dragged him into the bed with her. Caught off guard, Ashby tensed briefly, relaxing only when she cuddled into his side with her face buried against his neck like it had been earlier. “I know it’s hard, but try to sleep,” Ashby whispered in her ear. In an effort to sooth her, he started to hum a sweet tune, hoping to lull her to sleep. The softness of his voice gave her something to focus on, something to help ward off the memories.

***

Another week came and went, during which so many things had happened. Lillian was granted her restraining order, though she hadn’t seen Corbin since that night. With the warrant out for his arrest, she doubted she would, but that didn’t stop her from moving out of her house with the help of Ashby and Harper.

Harper had initially been very weary of these new changes, especially since her brother and Lillian had been sharing his bedroom, but each day that passed made it easier for her to accept it, especially when she saw how happy he was having Lillian around.

They spent their nights after Harper got home from school watching movies together, often electing to just eat dinner in the living room. Eventually, Harper opened up about why she was living with Ashby. After Anita’s death, things had grown strained with her parents; her father hadn’t been able to accept that Anita had been abusing Ashby so horrifically for years. She stayed with them for several more years after that, but once she got into her senior year of high school, she’d begged him to let her live with him, and that was that.

On that Saturday, Harper requested that they go back to the fair, since their last trip had been cut short. She had even offered to help cover up the remnants of her bruise, so with a fresh coat of foundation and blush, Lillian had agreed to go.

This time around, she had a great deal of fun, allowing the atmosphere to let her temporarily forget her problems. Lillian rode rides, ate greasy food, bought ridiculously over-priced souvenirs, but she couldn’t remember a time when she’d enjoyed herself so much. It was at the top of the Ferris wheel when Harper was distracted that Lillian was brave enough to give Ashby a peck on the cheek. It wasn’t planned, but she couldn’t help the way her heart bloomed with him, and she wasn’t the only one affected, because just as she pulled back, he turned his head and sweetly brushed a kiss over her lips.

They broke apart like guilty teenagers when Harper turned back around, but for the rest of the night, they walked hand in hand.

“Thanks for bringing us back.” Harper said as they were leaving, loaded down with their winnings and purchases. They were on either side of Ashby, holding him around his waist in mirrored embraces. To all the world, they looked like a happy family, and for once Lillian found herself agreeing with strangers.

Lillian couldn’t help but squeeze him a little tighter, as they made their way through the parking lot to Ashby’s car. Was it possible that in such a short amount of time that she could have developed some deeper feelings for the man she had once thought was destined to be her worst enemy? The tightening in her chest and butterflies in the pit of her stomach said what her stubborn brain wouldn’t. _Logic never really had any say in affairs of the heart_ , she mused.

Like some sort of imp, Harper pulled away from them to spin and whirl around as free as could be. Neither Lillian or Ashby said anything, letting her savor a moment of lost youth, but their moment was cut short when Harper looked back at them and her smiles dissolved into sheer terror.

“Ashby!” The scream ripped from her throat only moments before Ashby was wretched from Lillian’s arm and sent flying to the ground. Lillian went to help him up but saw something swinging towards Ashby’s prone figure. A metal baseball bat crashed down on Ashby’s shoulder twice before Lillian could even register what happened, though once she did, she leapt to action. Throwing herself over his body, she turned and threw out her right arm to block the next blow. It came with such force that she felt like her arm had exploded.

In that split second before the pain had consumed her attention entirely, Lillian looked up to see Corbin wielding his bat, winding up for another swing. In the moments that followed, Lillian heard an animal scream dragged out of her throat but even past that, she watched helplessly as Corbin tried to move his swings closer to Ashby’s head. Corbin was out to kill him. The pain radiated all through her body, but she dragged herself with her good arm over the now unconscious Ashby. The blows to her back stopped the moment she heard Harper’s struggling grunts.

God, Lillian wanted to tell Harper to get back, to go call for help. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for Corbin to hurt her too, and she couldn’t live with that on her conscience. Her purse. She needed to get to her purse. The precious seconds that Harper’s fight gave allowed her just enough time to find her purse where she dropped it. There was no question what she needed to do.

“Harper. Down!” Taking shaky aim with her left hand, the moment Harper hit the ground Lillian unloaded the six rounds of her revolver into Corbin. His arms had been over his head to swing again, giving her a perfect view of his chest. Despite her aiming with the wrong hand, the red spray of blood told her that at least a few of her shots had hit her target.

Corbin collapsed somewhere by her feet, unmoving. The tattoo on her arm burned hot like a branding iron, and she knew in that moment that he was dead.

“Lillian! Ashby!” Harper was sobbing, trying to check on the both of them. Some strangers had noticed all the commotion and had come running over to help. In the last seconds before her eyes drifted closed, Lillian rolled her head to the side and caught one final glimpse of Ashby’s face. His sweet face was the last thing she saw before the void claimed her.

***

Waking up was like wading through a thick white fog. Her eyes were impossibly heavy, like lead weights as she tried to open them. A voice called to her, sounding far off, drawing closer the more awake she became.

“Lillian?” There was a gentle pressure on her shoulder, and she locked onto it as a focal point to rouse her further. Slowly but surely, she managed to force her eyes open to see Harper’s worried face hovering over hers. Through the haze she saw little shining tears pouring down Harper’s cheeks.

“Ashby?” Her panic set the heart monitor beeping wildly to the point that a nurse came in to check on her.

“Oh, you’re finally awake. How are you feeling?” Oddly, until the nurse asked, she hadn’t really taken an inventory of how her body felt. She regretted doing so now as all the aches and pains wracked her body. Looking down, she was able to see her right arm bound in a cast, but it was her back that was hurting her the most. In his rage, Corbin had landed several blows to her ribs and shoulders, so it was probable that something else was broken.

“I hurt.” A mammoth understatement, but she needed to get out of her hospital bed sooner rather than later. The nurse nodded sympathetically, moving around to the different monitors to check her vitals and IV.

“Your right arm is broken, and four of your ribs are fractured, but mostly there’s just a lot of bruising.” For as bad as the attack was, she was very surprised she didn’t have worse injuries.

“Where’s Ashby?” No matter her pain, she cared more about him. This was all her fault, and he’d suffered so much because of her. The nurse looked confused, but Harper quickly explained that Lillian was his girlfriend.

“Mr. Crane is across the hall.”

“I need to go see him,” Lillian said firmly. She tried to sit up, but the nurse gently pressed her back into the bed.

“You really shouldn’t be moving around.” That only fueled her determination, and she pushed the nurse’s hands away. He was so close, yet so far away, but she would get to him one way or another. Seeing Lillian’s fierce expression, the nurse sighed and held up her hands in defeat. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said softly, catching Lillian’s attention. “If you hang tight until the doctor comes to see you, I’ll unhook you and get a wheelchair to take you over to see him.” Lillian looked to Harper who nodded to her, gently taking her left hand in hers.

So through her mounting impatience, Lillian stewed in her bed, going through all the motions of speaking to the doctors, gritting her teeth through the pain while she showed her mobility, swearing that she didn’t need any medication for fear she’d fall asleep again.

When the doctor was satisfied with her answers, he left them and Lillian immediately looked over to the nurse. True to her word, the nurse began to unhook her from the monitors, but left the IV in for future pain medication. Harper helped her out of the bed and into the wheelchair, pushing the IV pole behind when the nurse took over.

Lillian felt the pit of her stomach tremble the closer she drew to Ashby’s room. Was he okay? How badly was he hurt? The questions fell away as soon as she saw him lying in his own bed with his hazel eyes open.

“Lillian!” His startled voice brought out her tears, and they poured unheeded down her face. She was wheeled all the way up to the side of Ashby’s bed. His face had been left unmarked, allowing her mind to calm substantially, but then she remembered that he’d been mostly hit in the same places she had.

“How bad are you hurt?” Her left hand shot out automatically to hold his, and she had to bite back a cry from the shooting pain through her body.

“I should be asking you that,” Ashby said softly, wincing while he humorlessly chuckled.

“I’m so sorry, Ashby. This never would have happened if-.” Her apology was cut off by Ashby pressing a finger to her lips. Lillian watched him with her wide sapphire eyes.

“As bad as we hurt now, I can’t regret meeting you.” Carefully, he brought her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss that made her heart flutter. “After Denver, I never thought I could be happy, but meeting you made me realize I was wrong.”

“How can you say that still?” Here they both sat, bruised, broken, and lucky to be alive, yet he was still grateful to have met her?

“Because I love you.” A long pause followed. He _loved_ her? “I know it’s fast, but after the hell we’ve been through, I need you to know that.”

“Harper, can you help me up?” Both Harper and Ashby looked at her with confusion, but Harper came back to her side and helped lift her up. Once up, Lillian leaned forward as best as she could and kissed Ashby soundly as well as her tender body would let her. Three weeks had changed her life so irrevocably. She’d met her true soulmate, been forced to take the life of the man she _thought_ had been her soulmate, and now found herself in the hospital with a man who was declaring his love for her.

“I love you too, Ashby.” They’d heal over time, both mentally and physically. Harper took both of their hands in hers, giving them a happy but watery smile. Yes, together they’d find a way to move on and find happiness. This is where life began.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it or you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email at highlandrose1743@yahoo.com.


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